Warriors' rookies are performers with potential

WARRIORS

Updated 9:03 am, Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Golden State Warriors introduce their new draft picks including Draymond Green in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, July 2, 2012.

The Golden State Warriors introduce their new draft picks including Draymond Green in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, July 2, 2012.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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Warriors introduce new draft picks including Harrison Barnes in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, July 2, 2012.

Warriors introduce new draft picks including Harrison Barnes in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, July 2, 2012.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

Image 3 of 3

The Golden State Warriors introduce their 2012 draft picks (left to right) Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green at their practice facilities in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, July 2, 2012.

The Golden State Warriors introduce their 2012 draft picks (left to right) Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green at their practice facilities in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, July 2, 2012.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

Warriors' rookies are performers with potential

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The Warriors' top three draft picks went through all of the pomp and circumstance of being introduced to the Bay Area media Monday, and then things got real.

"We're excited at the prospects of these players, but we're also realistic that they haven't played any games yet, they're still rookies and they haven't helped us win any games," said Warriors general manager Bob Myers, who selected Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli and Draymond Green in leading his first draft room. "You have to kind of be cautiously optimistic about how they're going to help your team."

This is a look at why the Warriors are leaning more toward optimistic than cautious about their haul:

Barnes, North Carolina sophomore, 6-foot-8, 227 pounds: The top high school recruit in the nation in 2010, Barnes averaged 16.4 points a game and shot 34.9 percent from three-point range.

"He had so much attention for so long that it became a question of what he couldn't do instead of what he could do," Myers said. "People got fixated on the faults and forgot all of the things he can do."

There's a school of thought that Barnes actually will be better in the NBA, in which the floor is spaced because of the defensive three-seconds rule and a deeper three-point arc that opens driving lanes.

Even if he doesn't develop into a top-of-the-line slasher, there's little question that Barnes can shoot. He already wants a shot at Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

"I'm sure there are going to be a lot of epic HORSE games after practice," Barnes said.

Ezeli, Vanderbilt senior, 6-11, 264 pounds: Just five years ago, Ezeli was video coordinator for the basketball team at Yuba College (Sutter County), and now he's a first-round pick.

Ezeli came to the United States after graduating from high school in Nigeria at 14. He wanted to be a physician, like his uncle, but he developed a body and a love for basketball and settled for the "easier" degree in economics at Vanderbilt.

"You're not going to have to teach him how to practice, how to prepare, how to do the right things," said Joe Fisher, the voice of Vanderbilt sports. "He's going to do all of those things, because that's who he is."

Ezeli had a little different self-description. He describes a player who asked the coaches to redshirt him as a freshman because he didn't understand how to play basketball and one who developed into the school's all-time leader in blocked shots.

"I'm a defender. That's what I do," Ezeli said. "I feel like I can go up against anyone. I've worked too hard to back down."

Green, Michigan State senior, 6-7, 235 pounds: The NABC National Player of the Year, Green finished his career among the school's top two in rebounding, blocked shots and steals. Somehow, he was overlooked in the first 34 picks.

"That didn't make any sense to me," Myers said.

In fact, the Warriors didn't think they had a shot at Green at No. 35, and they had agreed to trade the pick if he didn't slip. When Cleveland, which also was high on Green, dealt its picks at Nos. 33-34 to Dallas, the Warriors decided to hold onto their selection.

"It's always been about what I can't do. It just keeps going, keeps going and never stops," Green said. "It just keeps that fire lit in me."

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